Metabolism is the process by which your body converts food into energy. Many people hold the belief that fat people have low metabolism rates and skinny people have high metabolism rates. However, the process is not that simple.

Your metabolism depends on three separate factors, and how it works affects how much you weigh. Metabolism is determined by the amount of calories you consume, factors such as age and sex, and how physically active you are.

If you consume excessive calories, you will eventually gain weight. Each human body is designed to run on a certain calorie amount. This can vary from person to person, but is between 1500 and 2500 calories for most adults. If you are trying to lose weight, it will be less.

Men generally need more calories per day than women, unless the woman is pregnant or breastfeeding. The rate at which your body burns these calories is your metabolism; if you burn them more slowly, youll gain weight. If you burn through extra calories quickly, youll maintain your weight.

Factors such as age, body composition, and sex also determine metabolism. If your body contains more muscle, your metabolism will be faster. If it contains more fat, your body will be slower.

For this reason, women’s metabolism often slows down after pregnancy. Excess fat is accumulated and stored on the hips and breasts. After pregnancy, it can be harder to lose this weight. Age also affects your metabolism; as you age, your metabolism slows down. This can lead to “middle age spread” if you don’t take action to burn those extra calories and kick your metabolism into high gear.

Your rate of physical activity greatly affects your metabolism. This is good news; it means you have some control over the situation! If your metabolism is slowing down due to age, gender, or other factors, you can boost it by exercising. The key to weight loss is burning more calories than you take in.

When you choose to exercise regularly and eat a healthy diet, weight loss is possible. Your metabolism will increase as you add muscle to your body remember; muscle burns more calories than fat!

To jump-start your metabolism, you may need to lower the amount of calories you’re consuming daily and up the amount of exercise you are doing. Choose aerobic and weight lifting exercises for maximum impact. Aerobic exercise burns fat, and weight training will add muscle. Both can greatly increase your metabolism, leading to healthy fat loss.

This article isn’t medical advice nor should it be interpreted or substituted as medical advice. This article is for informational purposes only. Prior to making changes to your physical exercise routine and your diet, you should always consult your personal physician. It is much better to be safe than sorry.

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Are you finding that you can’t lose weight, no matter how much you diet or exercise? For some people, there are legitimate medical conditions like thyroid problems causing this to happen. Others may simply need to make lifestyle changes to exercise more or eat different foods. Here are a few things to look for if you are having trouble losing weight.

The first thing you should do is consult your doctor for a full physical to rule out any obvious medical issues. Thyroid problems are the most common reason for the inability to lose weight, but there are a number of other less frequent conditions that can also cause the problem. A lack of iodine in the diet may be the source of some thyroid problems. Your physician can perform a urine test to check this if it appears to be a problem for you. Some signs of iodine deficiency include physical and mental sluggishness, skin or hair problems, and increased sensitivity to temperature.

If your doctor gives you a clean bill of health and cannot find any medical problem for why you can’t lose weight, your lifestyle is the next place to look. Many people fall into habits with their consumption and will eat unhealthy foods without realizing it or even intending to do so. Make sure you are eating enough protein and not too many carbohydrates. Excessive sugars and grains are easily converted to fat in the body and should be restricted to a small portion of your overall diet.

Simply writing down the foods you eat and the time you ate them will help you analyze your daily routine and see if there are any obvious problem areas. For example, you may find that you frequently eat an unhealthy fast food lunch at work because you are busy or it is more convenient. This can easily be fixed by spending some time in the morning preparing your own healthy lunch for the day, but may slip by unnoticed if you are eating healthy dinners and exercising after work.

Your body composition may also be the reason you can’t lose weight. Muscle cells burn far more energy while at rest than fat cells. If you do not have much muscle, your body may be able to maintain its current weight even when you do not eat very many calories. This leads to starvation diets, which only make the problem worse as the body compensates for the lack of nourishment. Many people get stuck in this cycle and do not realize that the only way out is to eat more food, not less.

In times of famine, the body is designed to slow its metabolism and conserve the few calories that are available. This means more fat is stored, even though you may be eating as little as half of your previous food intake. The easiest way to boost your resting metabolism is to add some strength training into your exercise routine. Building muscle will make your body burn more calories even while sitting at rest, which may eliminate the reasons you currently can’t lose weight.

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Healthy eating and nutrition for the elderly is greatly impacted by several factors, one of them being a change in body composition. During the later years in life, the body will lose bone and muscle and gain fat because the hormones aren’t very active anymore.

There are many factors which hinder an elderly person’s health. The information below will help you to lead a healthy life – no matter how old you may be.

Water
Water in the body decreases with age, so many older folks will become dehydrated very easily. Sometimes they won’t feel thirsty, while other times it’s too much work to pour a glass a water. With this in mind, it’s recommended that they drink at least 1 ounce of water for every 2.2 pounds of weight.

Protein
At this stage in life, protein is very important. Protein is needed to support a healthy immune system and prevent the wasting of muscle. Since energy needs are less, older folks should eat high quality protein such as eggs, lean meats, poulty, and fish.

Carbs and fiber
Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for the entire body. You can find carbs in bread, cereals, pasta, and other grain products. A diet that’s high in fiber and water will help to prevent constipation as well.

Fat
Fat intake for the elderly should be limited, not eliminated. You can limit fat by choosing lean meats, low fat dairy products, and food preperation methods that don’t include frying.

Iron
For the elderly, iron deficiency can be seen with those who aren’t eating much. Good sources for iron include lean red meats or breakfast cereals.

Zinc
Zinc intake is normally with the elderly, and to make matters worse, it’s not absorbed very well either. Meat, poultry, and fish should be a part of your diet to help you meet the requirements for zinc.

Calcium
Calcium is one ingredient that most elderly folks simply aren’t getting enough of. Most believe that milk upsets their stomach, and therefore they will avoid it. They should be getting around 1,500 mg of calcium a day, and nonfat powdered milk can be used in recipes as a substitute for milk. Other foods such as yogurt, low fat cheese, and broccoli can also help you meet the requirements for calcium.

Vitamin B12
In order to absorb the benefits of B12, the intrinsic facotr must be produced by the stomach. Most elderly people suffer from a deficiency in B12 because they have a condition known as atrophic gastritis. This condition causes inflammation of the stomach, bacterial overgrowth, and the intrinsic factor. Without the intrinsic factor, this vitamin can be absorbed.

Each one of the above nutrients are needed to keep an aged body in good health. Elderly individuals should try to stay active and strive for a well balanced diet. Even though the aged body isn’t the same as it used to be, proper care and the right nutrients can help the elderly enjoy a healthy and long life.

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